On my second-to-last day of hair metal week, I will look at hippie hair metal.
At the beginning of the '90's, this 14-year old tastemaker had difficulty predicting what the new rock trend of the new decade would be. When I saw Enuff Z'Nuff, I placed all my chips on hippie hair metal. All those psychedelic colors in the video blew me away. And those John Lennon sunglasses seemed like the accessory to get.
Of all the hippie genre mash-ups (hippie hop, freak folk, hippie techno) none has been less successful or fondly remembered than this ungodly amalgam. Nevermind that critics would like their follow-up album Strength, with Rolling Stone calling them the hot band of the year in '91. Yes, the same year Nirvana's Nevermind came out. Enuff Z'nuff were too pussy for metalheads and too sexist for hippies (Chip Z'nuff was popular on the Howard Stern show).
BONUS: The "critically acclaimed stuff" I haven't heard until today. "Mother's Eyes" is even more hippy-dippy with its peace and love platitudes. Imagine John Lennon (get it?) writing a power ballad and you'll understand this song. Somewhat.
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